Jul

2025

Veterans Give Back Through Chesapeake Bay Oyster Restoration

For Immediate Release: July 18, 2025 For Information Contact: Valerie DiMarzio, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, vdimarzio@cbf.org Alena Billingsley, Armed Forces Initiative, afimarketing@backcountryhunters.org ANNAPOLIS, MD—In a triumph for outdoor stewardship and clean water, roughly a dozen U.S. veterans and servicemembers joined the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) this week to restore oyster habitat in Maryland and Virginia. Both events were part of a larger Chesapeake Bay fishing ...

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Tags: media, Press Releases, Armed Forces Initiative, Habitat Stewardship, Mid-Atlantic Chapter, Public Lands & Waters

1

Jul

2025

These Lands We'll Protect: AFI Veterans Speak Out Against Public Land Selloffs

Author: Bryan Jones

As part of the federal budget reconciliation process, members of the U.S. Senate were considering the sale of up to 3 million acres of public land—much of it in the same backcountry places that help veterans heal, reconnect, and reintegrate. For those involved in Backcountry Hunters & Anglers’ Armed Forces Initiative (AFI), these aren’t just parcels on a map. They’re hallowed ground. Thankfully, over this past weekend, Senate negotiators dropped provisions to sell public lands—after ...

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Categories: Media

Tags: Armed Forces Initiative

24

Jun

2025

Armed Forces Initiative sends letter to Congress

Author: Zachary Williams

"For many of us, these wild places are the last bridge between the war we left behind and the peace we still seek. Does Congress truly intend to burn that bridge with the stroke of a pen?" The below letter was authored by the board of BHA's Armed Forces Initiative and mailed on June 18,2025 to all 541 members of Congress concerning the proposed sell-off of over 3 million acres of public lands. June 18, 2025 Dear Member of Congress: Chief among the ideals that service members and ...

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Categories: Media

Tags: media, Armed Forces Initiative

18

Jun

2025

Giants of Conservation Rally For Public Lands

Author: David Lien

Giants of Conservation Rally For Public Lands Conservation and democracy are among America’s most enduring principles. In fact, no other nation enjoys the vast array of national parks, monuments, wildlife refuges, rangelands, forests, rivers, and wilderness as the United States. The deed on a big part of this public lands inheritance dates back to a veteran and Medal of Honor recipient, Theodore Roosevelt.[1] Roosevelt would be proud that today his legacy is being upheld by fellow veterans ...

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Categories: Media

Tags: Armed Forces Initiative

20

May

2025

These Woods Saved Me. Now I’m Fighting to Save Them for My Sons

Author: Hunter Owen

By Hunter Owen I’ve spent most of my adult life in uniform. As a dad I’ve done my best to balance fatherhood and life in uniform. But the truth is, I’ve been in and out of my kids’ lives more than I care to admit. Deployments, duty stations, missed birthdays, and video calls from a continent away became the rhythm of being a dad. And now, as I try to rebuild those bonds—while managing PTSD and a traumatic brain injury. The one thing that helps me reconnect with my three boys is getting ...

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Categories: Media, News, Chapter News, Issues, Federal Issues

Tags: media, Armed Forces Initiative

6

May

2025

A Salute to Service: Honoring Dalton Wayne Hoover’s Impact on AFI

Author: Garrett Robinson

At the heart of the Armed Forces Initiative (AFI) is the belief that service doesn’t stop when the uniform comes off—it simply evolves. Our mission to help veterans and active-duty military members find a new calling in conservation is only made possible by the incredible dedication of our volunteer leaders. Today, we pause to recognize one such leader whose thoughtful words, quiet contributions, and passion for storytelling have left a lasting imprint on our community. After years of ...

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Categories: Media

Tags: Armed Forces Initiative

8

Apr

2025

National Monuments At Risk (Veterans Defend Camp Hale)

Author: David Lien

During early April members of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA) and other conservation groups converged in Washington, D.C. to advocate for keeping public lands in public hands. I had the privilege of visiting the offices of both Colorado U.S. Senators and four U.S. Representatives to talk about the importance of public lands—places like Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument—to veterans, hunters, anglers, and all Americans.[1] Congress passed and President Theodore Roosevelt ...

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Categories: Media, Chapter News

Tags: Armed Forces Initiative, Colorado Chapter

24

Mar

2025

Modernizing the 1872 Mining Act: Protecting Our Public Lands, Wildlife, and Future

Author: Garrett Robinson

For nearly 150 years, the 1872 Mining Act has shaped hardrock mining on our public lands. Enacted in an era of rapid expansion and resource extraction, the act was originally designed to fuel growth in a burgeoning nation. However, what was once a forward-thinking policy now stands as an outdated framework that fails to address modern environmental challenges and scientific understandings. A Look Back: The History of the 1872 Mining Act Passed in 1872 during a period when economic expansion ...

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Categories: Media

Tags: Policy, media, Armed Forces Initiative

6

Mar

2025

AFI Wyoming Priority Landscape Event

Author: Cody Fongemie

The word "community" is often used, whether it refers to where you live, or a cheesy line often used by employers to describe their workplace environment. The community within the Armed Forces Initiative isn't just a buzzword. It's a place where you belong, where veterans, active-duty service members, and other members of our military community come together through the common pursuits of hunting, angling, and conservation. Our camps and events are not just gatherings but opportunities to ...

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Categories: Media

Tags: Armed Forces Initiative

18

Feb

2025

On Base: Creek Restoration in Historic Habitat

Author: Jacob Greenslade

On a damp October morning away from the noise of I-5 and life's usual distractions, a group of volunteers huddle near a white canopy. Braving the cold, they wait to hear the plan for the day of work they had sacrificed their Saturday for. Most everyone here has a direct association with the base, but few know that Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) is home to the largest expanse of glacial outwash prairie. Out of all historical prairies of this nature, only 5% still exist, almost all of which ...

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Categories: Media

Tags: Armed Forces Initiative, Habitat Stewardship

2026 North Country Icebreaker

2026 Black Bear Bonanza

2026 North Country Icebreaker

2026 Black Bear Bonanza

Media

Veterans Give Back Through Chesapeake Bay Oyster Restoration

These Lands We'll Protect: AFI Veterans Speak Out Against Public Land Selloffs

Armed Forces Initiative sends letter to Congress

Giants of Conservation Rally For Public Lands

These Woods Saved Me. Now I’m Fighting to Save Them for My Sons

A Salute to Service: Honoring Dalton Wayne Hoover’s Impact on AFI

National Monuments At Risk (Veterans Defend Camp Hale)

Modernizing the 1872 Mining Act: Protecting Our Public Lands, Wildlife, and Future

AFI Wyoming Priority Landscape Event

On Base: Creek Restoration in Historic Habitat

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